Height: 5-10
Weight: 185
Shoot: L
Born: 11 May 1949, Brampton ON
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | New York | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | New York-Jersey | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | San Diego | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | San Diego | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
• Distant relation to Danny Geoffrion.
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A New Morenz For The Raiders • by Hugh Delano • The Hockey Spectator • September 1972
Howie Morenz? Mention the name and senior hockey devotees let their thoughts drift back to the Golden Era of Sport in the Roaring Twenties. Dazzling speed on skates. The Canadian Babe Ruth of hockey. A legend in his own time. Brian Morenz? Mention the name and Camille Henry smiles and searches for adjectives. Swift skating and clever moves and passes. So what if he's not an athlete of Ruth's immense talent or a legendary figure? "Brian Morenz is a heck of a good young hockey player," said the coach of the New York Raiders. "He's looked the best of anyone of our rookies in training camp. He's a very fast skater and can really move the puck and deke you." It so happens the 23-year-old former Denver collegian is a second cousin of the late Howie Morenz, a member of hockey's Hall of Fame who starred wih the Montreal Canadiens. It so happens young Morenz is related through a family marriage to another Canadiens' former star, Bernie (Boom-Boom) Geoffrion, coach of the NHL Atlanta Flames. The Boomer married Howie Morenz's daughter. "That's a pretty good hockey background, eh?' said Henry. Indeed it is. Morenz, an articulate chap whom the Raiders are using both at center and wing, is accustomed to people reminding him of his hockey heritage. "Ever since I was a kid, older fans who remembered Howie Morenz have mentioned it," he said. "When I was young, I got an encyclopedia to read up about him. He was certainly great. It might bea burden for me if he had played more recently. But since he didn't, there's no problem about people comparing me with him." The 5-10, 180-pound rookie seems to attract important associations in hockey. As a junior with the Oshawa Generals, he was a teammate of Vancouver's Dale Tallon and California's Ivan Boldirev, He played junior against Bobby Orr and at Denver was a teammate of the Black Hawks' Keith Magnuson. Brian, whom the St. Louis Blues and Black Hawks both sought, was raised in Brampton, Ontario, and learned to admire the skills of the Maple Leafs' Dave Keon at an early age. "I liked the way he skated, checked, dug for the puck and set up his wingers," said the young Raider. Morenz is confident he can help the Raiders. "I feel I've got a good shot at making the club as a regular," he said. "I mean, I don't think it's out of reach. Skating has always been an asset of mine, and, as a center, I've always placed great emphasis on checking and setting up my wings rather than getting goal hungry myself." That's a sound philosophy." Not even Howie Morenz could argue with such thinking. |
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